The Seer and the Demon
by meowcubed3
Summary: Sybil has never believed in the supernatural. But a past chance encounter with a creature that is not human leaves her questioning everything. Then Sybil' s vacation takes a turn for worse when she is plagued with strange dreams and mysterious people.


_It was_ _a_ _dark and stormy night._ Isn't that how all horror stories start? An ominous setting with lots of foreboding. Just my luck that the one night I was driving while intoxicated a thunderstorm rolls in.

"Stupid party. I cannot believe that Sophie talked me into it. _ I swear there won't be drinking! Eve told me her parents don't keep alcohol in the house. Please come Sybil! It won't be the same without you!"_ I made a too high impression of my best friend's voice.

"No drinking, Yeah right." I hadn't actually had any of the beers offered but, I think someone might have spiked my ginger ale. It was probably a prank. I mean come on, a bunch of seventeen year olds plus alcohol minus supervision, who's bright idea was that? All of the people there go to my school and we're usually a well behaved crowd, but when we cut loose, utter chaos is released. Raindrops start to appear on my window.

"Damn. Can this night get any worse?" As if answering me a crack of thunder sounded across the highway. Every thing outside is a dark blur. My head is starting to feel fuzzy. I turn up the radio, hoping for something good. _Sympathy for the Devil_ by the Rolling Stones comes on. I give a wry smile. Perfect.

_"Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste. I've been around for a long long year, stolen many a man's soul to pay." _I began to sing along. _"I was around when Jesus Christ had his moment of doubt and pain. " _Suddenly my headlights illuminate two figures in the road. One is hunched over the other and there is blood and lots of it.

"Holy Shit!" I swerve off the road into a ditch. The bent over figure looks up.

_"Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name!"_ The figure is an skeletal looking woman. She has blood smeared all over her face. The radio is still playing even though the car is wrecked. The person on the ground moans. I scramble to reach my phone. My hands are so slippery. I dial the number as fast as I can.

"9-1-1? I'm out on a highway. There is so much blood."

_"But, what's puzzling you is the nature of my game. Ah, yeah."_

"Calm down Miss, where are you?" I look around frantically. I see a sign.

"Highway 76. What should I do?" The man on the line is saying something but I'm not listening anymore. The bloody woman stares at me. Then she runs off into the woods.

_"So if you meet me, have some courtesy, have some sympathy and some taste."_

The person in the road moans again. I'm frozen in place. My head starts to spin and I drop my phone.

"Hello Miss? Are you still there?" Now I feel as if I' m the person in the road. I retch out the contents of my stomach.

_"Ah, yeah!"_

Everything goes black. I don't come to until the sound of sirens wakes me.

…

"I love Italy!" My best friend Sophie steps into the cab after me. She is grinning maniacally.

"There's just something the atmosphere." I agree with her.

"I am so glad you decided to come with me. I was worried you might not be able to make it with college and all."

"And miss touring the land of Italia with my crazy friend? Not a chance." Sophie gives me hug. We have been to Italy once when we were middle schoolers and have been saving since then to come back.

As we enter Rome I can see the hills outside the city. Tall buildings soon block my view and the distinctive umbrella pines tower over them as they grow in the median. All traffic lines are abandoned with little sports cars as far as the eye can see with vespas weaving through them. The cab drops us at our hotel. We check in and get our rooms. Sophie' s is right across the hall from mine. The room is clean, which is all you can ask for, but the bathroom is tiny. I can sit on the toilet, wash my hands and close the shower curtain at the same time.

Braiding my red hair, I stuff everything I need in my purse and go and knock on Sophie' s door. She emerges with a map, water bottle and book of Italian phrases.

"C'mon, Lets go down to the Campo De Fiori." I tell her.

"Ready when you are Sybil."

We walk out of our hotel. Once we spot the Tiber river we walk alongside it, taking pictures of everything in site and talking about ancient Rome.

" 's the Castello St Angelo." Sophie points at the round castle across the bridge.

"So that means the Campo De Fiori is that a way." I gesture in the opposite direction.

"Right."

I wander into one of the many _piazzas_of Rome and Sophie is forced to follow me. A gypsy woman is wandering around, begging for loose change.

"Hold on to your purse." I mutter to Sophie. "Here comes trouble." Gypsies are notorious pickpockets. I know a family who had they're passports and money stolen by gypsies.

The old woman approaches us, a plastic cup with a few coins in it extend towards us. Sophie looks away clutching her bag, while I mutter apologies. The gypsy frowns then lights up.

"Tell you fortune?" She offers in broken English. I shake my head.

"I don't have any money to give you." She waves this away and grabs my hand. Sophie steps forward

"Sybil?"

"I'm fine." I turn to the wrinkled and short woman.

"No thank you."

"Girl should know what come, yes? I do for free"

"Alright." I say skeptically. The old woman grins, revealing broken and yellow teeth. She is wearing a flowered scarf around her head, a smelly sweatshirt and a faded skirt. Taking on of her long knarled fingers she traces my palm. This sends shivers up my back. She mumbles and clicks her tongue.

"You strange. Too long life or too short. Lots of hurt. Lots of love also. At least that good. You see not happen yet. Bad things, devil things and shadows you see. Yes, very strange." I yank my hand back.

"I'm done, thank you." I say coldly. The crone shrugs.

"You choice." She walks over to the next group of tourists, rattling her plastic cup. Sophie stares at me.

"You do the weirdest things some times. She could have robbed you blind!"

"But she didn't. She was just some harmless old woma- hey where'd she go?" We look around the piazza but the old woman had already disappeared.

* * *

**Author' s Note**

** There are probably lots of spelling errors in the Italian words and please tell me if you see one. Review and you will receive cookies! (::) (::) (::)**


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